On the Hook (Lk. 5:1-11)
Hear
Good morning BCC!
Last week we followed Jesus into Capernaum where He blew people away with His teaching, authority, and power. Again, Satan assumed that he was the one in control, but as Jesus proved on the Sabbath, it is He who has all authority.
Something we noticed in last week’s verses was the contrasting responses of those in Nazareth with the people of Capernaum. The Nazarenes were amazed at the authority and teaching of Jesus, but the people of Capernaum were utterly amazed. Something we didn’t really discuss, which we will also see in today’s verses, is how the amazement of these two groups influenced their subsequent responses to Jesus.
Amazement quickly turns to wrath in Nazareth as the people run Jesus out of town and try to kill Him.
In Capernaum, amazement turns to faith. They don’t want Jesus to leave at all. They requested for Him to stay, but Jesus informs them that He has to leave and preach the kingdom of God in other cities. That was His mission.
Today, Jesus leaves the city to spend some time at the lake. Only, He’s not jet skiing or tanning. He’s fishing.
The Word (Lk. 5:1-11)
Go with me to Luke chapter five and let’s begin at the first verse.
Luke 5:1–11 NKJV
1 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,
2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.
3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
Hear the Word (Lk. 5:1-3)
I want to back up just a few verses so that we understand how we arrived at the events in our scripture for today. Go to Luke four.
Luke 4:42–44 NKJV
42 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;
43 but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”
44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
At the end of chapter four we learn that Jesus has gone on a preaching tour. However, before setting off, what does Luke tell us that He did? He went into the eremos. He went into a quiet, deserted, and solitary place.
And Mark tells us that while He was there,
Mark 1:35 NKJV
35 He prayed.
Chuck Swindoll says,
“In solitude, though, the only person needing anything is you, and you’ve brought your need to God’s inexhaustible supply.
There He sifts the essentials of life from the chaff and trains your mind on what’s important, leaving you with a healthy perspective of who you are and what He’s called you to do.”[1]
So often people admit to having difficulty with hearing God’s voice. Struggling to decipher between their own thoughts and the Spirit of God. In many of these cases, what impedes our ability to identify the voice of God is actually our own busyness and unwillingness to slow down and rest and listen.
Solitude was an important practice for Jesus. His fanbase was building and instead of getting pulled down by the undertow of popularity, He removed Himself in order to hear from the Father.
As usual, there’s a crowd following Jesus. Just a few verses earlier He was healing the sick and casting demons out of people. Luke tells us that the crowd is pressing in on Him so that they can hear the word of God. Now, contrast that with what we saw in Lk. 4:28-29. After hearing what Jesus had to say a crowd formed in order to stop Him from speaking. In Nazareth they wanted to kill him, but in Capernaum they were dying to hear Him speak.
The word used for hear in Lk. 5:1 is a Greek word which means to “listen with intention.” It commands the same response as the Hebrew shema found in Dt. 6:4.
Deuteronomy 6:4 NKJV
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
You listen in order to obey. The people came to hear what Jesus said with a readiness to do what He told them. Man, I wish somebody came to hear the Word of God this morning.
This is a perfect segway into what happens next.
Obey the Word (Lk. 5:4-7)
Luke tells us that the crowd pressed in on Jesus. It’s a wild and chaotic scene. This means that they have invaded His personal space. They are touching, grabbing, and holding on to Him. It’s the kind of thing you see when Taylor Swift is in a crowd of adoring fans. They are losing their minds. And Jesus needs to get some distance. He spots a boat. Gets in it and tells Simon Peter to start rowing.
I want you to notice something here. (This might be stretching a bit, but I think it still applies.) Jesus tells us in Luke 16:10 that if we are faithful with a little, then we will be entrusted with more. In verse 3 Jesus asks Simon to “put out a little” to which Simon obliges. In verse 4, after Jesus wraps up His seminar, He asks Simon to “launch out into the deep”.
Let’s quickly talk about what a little means.
If you rely on God with the little you've got, He'll multiply it. Think about the widow's oil (2 Kgs. 4) or the boy's fish and bread (Mt. 15:34). Jesus even said that if you're faithful with small things, God will trust you with more (Lk. 19:17). And seriously, even faith as tiny as a mustard seed can make the impossible happen, which Jesus pointed out when His disciples struggled to cast out demons (Matt. 17:20).
Now, this idea sometimes pops up around health and wealth, but let's be clear—it's not the "prosperity gospel." Here's the deal: If the only time you’re willing to trust God is when your bills start to pile up or your money is running low or your health starts to fail, then you’re not going to get very far in your walk with God.
Conversely, a little faith is all you need to have your life dramatically and eternally changed for good. Whatever that change looks like is in God’s hands.
Simon goes out a little and then Jesus takes Him into deeper water. How true is it, that we often want God to do big and dramatic things in our lives, to take us out into the deep waters of life, before we have learned to trust Him in the shallow waters?
Let’s pick up at verse four.
Luke 5:4–7 NKJV
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.
7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
There is so much that we can learn from this encounter.
First, why would Simon, a professional fisherman, take fishing advice from Jesus, a carpenter? Well, the answer is quite simple. This isn’t the first time that Simon has met Jesus. Two days after Jesus was baptized, they met and He changed Simon’s name to Peter.
John 1:40–42 ESV
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).
Not only that, but if you remember from last week’s sermon, Jesus went to Peter’s house and healed his mother-in-law. So Peter is familiar with Jesus. Again, this is why I have encouraged you to think upon the historic faithfulness of our God in your own lives. Your encounters with Him yesterday and today are laying the groundwork for your willingness and ability to trust Him down the road.
Now watch this. Simon is a professional fisherman by trade. Jesus on the other hand is a carpenter. I picture that there is probably some laughing and jeering when - the Carpenter - tells these fishermen to go fishing at the wrong time of the day after they have just spent their entire evening fishing and catching nothing, but something clicks and Simon complies. He doesn’t understand it. He may not even agree with it, but he obeys. “Nevertheless at Your Word I will…”
The second thing that we can learn is this, sometimes God’s ways just don’t make sense. Am I right? Sometimes, the things God tells us to do seem pointless and unnecessary.
Love your enemy!?
Bless those who curse you!?
Do good to those who hate you!?
Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you!? (Matt. 5:43ff)
In a world where we are taught to preserve our own interests, God says, look out for the interests of others as well (Phil. 2:4).
The reason why it doesn’t make sense a lot of the time is because God doesn’t operate the same way we do. He doesn’t see things the way we see them. He has all wisdom and knowledge and power and He can do all things!
Isaiah 55:8–9 NKJV
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
The result of Simon’s obedience is an unparalleled and miraculous catch of fish. So much so, that the net starts to break and he has to invite others to help him haul in what the Lord has blessed him with and even still it is almost too much for the two parties to handle.
Sometimes God’s ways don’t make sense, but if we will trust Him, if we will have just a little faith, then we will gain a greater understanding of who He is and who we are in light of Him.
This brings us to the next point.
Worship the Word (Lk. 5:8)
Let’s pick up at verse eight.
Luke 5:8 NKJV
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
Here’s a question. What exactly does Simon Peter see? I think initially we would say that he saw the large catch of fish, and that’s true but look closer at this verse.
Luke 5:8 NKJV
8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
The large catch of fish reveals two very important things to Simon Peter. First, he is struck by the majesty and holiness of Jesus. Second, that revelation uncovers his own sinfulness.
A.W. Tozer writes,
Until we have seen ourselves as God sees us, we are not likely to be much disturbed over conditions around us as long as they do not get so far out of hand as to threaten our comfortable way of life. We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.[2]
In the book of Revelation, when John sees Jesus in His glory, he tells us
Revelation 1:17 NKJV
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.
The prophet Ezekiel, describing the glory and majesty of God relays his own encounter, telling us that when he saw,
Ezekiel 1:28 NKJV
28 ...the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
The same thing happens with Simon Peter. This is reminiscent of Isaiah chapter six.
Isaiah 6:1–5 NKJV
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”
The prophet Isaiah sees the Lord exalted - high and lifted up - and the awareness of the majesty and holiness of the Lord brings Isaiah to his knees as he becomes aware of his own sinful heart. Unlike Isaiah, Peter wants Jesus to leave. He doesn’t want to be in the presence of the Master after his sinfulness is revealed.
If you think back to Genesis 3:8, when Adam and Eve become aware of their sinful nature they hid from God. In Genesis 4:16, when Cain becomes aware of his sin he flees from the presence of God. Peter follows in their tracks by asking Jesus to leave.
Too often this same thing happens today. When people become aware of their own sinfulness shame and guilt overwhelms them and they try to run or hide from the grace of God that is available to set them free. God doesn’t make us aware of our sin in order to shame us, but rather that we might turn that over to Him and be saved.
When Jessica and I met with Tate and Riley about baptism this past week, I asked Tate about his decision to follow Christ and get baptized. He told me, “I have sins and I know that Jesus can help me.” Tate didn’t let his sin keep him from Jesus. He brought that sin to the Savior like we all should do.
It’s interesting to me that Simon Peter didn’t have this reaction when Jesus casted demons out of people or when Jesus was in his house and healed his mother-in-law. What this tells me is that there’s a great difference between being a spectator to the miraculous work of God in somebody else’s life and personally being on the receiving end of grace.
Some of us watch God do incredible things all the time - for other people - and we’re amazed. We just witnessed God destroy the works of Satan in the lives of three young kids this morning. We clapped. We praised. But some of us will walk out of this place today and not give another thought to what we witnessed. It hasn’t touched you personally.
But there comes a time when God takes you out into the deep end. When your faith in Him is applied, and He pours out a blessing for you that overtakes you. That’s when it gets real. The awareness of His grace toward me despite my constant shortcomings and sin leaves me utterly amazed!
Because of Peter’s personal encounter with Jesus, he gains a perspective of the Lord that he didn’t have before. That experience revealed the holiness of God, the sinfulness of Peter’s heart, and the abundance of grace that Jesus has for every humble sinner.
Share the Word (Lk. 5:9-11)
Commentator, David Garland writes,
The message is that Jesus has not come to drive sinners away from His holy presence but to draw them into the net of his embracing grace.[3]
Let’s continue from Luke 5:9.
Luke 5:9–11 NKJV
9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
Simon Peter and his partners can’t believe their eyes! They are astonished, Luke says. We can’t really see this in our English Bibles, but the excitement has been building for quite some time.
In Nazareth the people were amazed (thaumazo) at Jesus’ teaching.
In Capernaum the people were astonished (ekplesso). They were greatly amazed at His teaching, authority, and power.
Here, out on Lake Gennesaret, the people are astonished (thambos). Each time Luke describes the reactions to Jesus he uses a stronger word than before. The word translated as astonished in Luke 5:9 (thambos) is a word which means to have “an overwhelming feeling of stunning wonder.” It means to be stupefied, awestruck or in fear. And this is exactly why Jesus tells Simon Peter not to be afraid. Or to stop being afraid.
What Jesus did for Simon Peter struck fear in his heart. But Jesus, the consummate comforter, invites Peter to go deeper once more. “From now on you will catch men.” Peter, Andrew, James and John leave everything and they follow Jesus.
Jesus chooses two different Greek words for catch in these verses. And these two words help us to get a better understanding of how He intended to employ these fishermen in the work of the kingdom.
Going back to Luke 5:4.
Luke 5:4 NKJV
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
The Greek word that Jesus uses here is agra (ἄγρα), which means to catch for killing.
Over the summer, my family went down to the beach and while we were there we did some crab fishing. We caught several of various sizes. The reason we caught those crabs was to kill them and eat them. That’s one way that the word catch is used here.
But Jesus uses a different word in Luke 5:10.
Luke 5:10 NKJV
10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.”
The Greek word for “catch” in this verse is zōgreō (ζωγρέω), which means to catch alive to keep alive; to catch to save. It’s kind of like those wildlife conservationists shows that play earlier on Saturday mornings. People go out into the wild to hunt animals to learn more about them in order to preserve their lives. The whole objective is to catch them in order to save them. This is the exact same idea behind the word Jesus uses in verse ten. It’s precisely why in Luke 9:56 Jesus told these former fishermen,
Luke 9:56 NKJV
56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.
The work of evangelism is a work of preservation. This is not a suggestion but rather it is an expectation of the Redeemer. Jesus has called us to join Him in the work of redemption by which we get to partner with God to save people’s lives. This is why Peter 3:15 tells us to,
1 Peter 3:15 NKJV
15 sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
It’s why Paul said,
Romans 10:14–15 NKJV
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
Listen! You have been sent church!
It is heartbreaking to think that there are a number of Christians, people whose lives have been snatched from the grip of death, who have not told a single person about the God Who saves. Share the hope that you have! Boast about the grace and mercy and power and love of our God! That’s why Jesus gave power to the disciples in Acts. And it’s why He has given you power today!
Respond
My friends, if you don’t know Jesus personally this morning, God’s Word calls you a sinner. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the fishing net of His amazing grace has been thrown out that you might get caught up in it and be pulled from the tumultuous waters of this sinful life into the life-giving waters of Jesus.
You don’t have to understand everything about what God is doing. You just have to trust Him. If you have a little faith this morning, you’ll see God do a miraculous and redeeming work in your life. All you need to do is admit that you are a sinner; that you need a Savior; and acknowledge that Jesus is the Answer.
If you’re here today and you are a Christian, maybe God has opened your eyes to your negligence in sharing your faith. Maybe He has revealed to you an area of your heart where you need to repent and turn back to Him. If you will have a little faith this morning and humble yourself under God’s mighty hand of grace, you too, will experience the miraculous and redeeming work of God this morning.
Tre Clark
Britton Christian Church
1/18/2026
[1] Charles Swindoll, So You Want to be Like Christ?, p67
[2] A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 103
[3] Garland, David E. Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke. Zondervan, p231
